Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a knee bolster of a glove box for a vehicle. More particularly, it relates to a knee bolster of a glove box for a vehicle which increases the stiffness of a front surface of the glove box with which the knees of a passenger may collide when a vehicle collision occurs, thus restraining the knees of the passenger from rushing into the glove box.
Description of Related Art
Generally, when a vehicle which is traveling is involved in a collision, a passenger who is in the vehicle is pushed toward the front of the vehicle by inertia.
Given this, vehicles are basically provided with airbags, seat belts, etc. as safety devices for protecting passengers when a vehicle collision occurs. However, if the lower body of a passenger is pushed into a lower portion of an instrument panel in which a dashboard, a glove box or the like is installed, it is difficult for the lower body of the passenger to be reliably protected by an airbag or seat belt, and the lower body may be seriously damaged.
Therefore, to prevent the lower body of the passenger from being pushed into the lower portion of the instrument panel, a knee bolster for reducing injuries of the lower body, particularly, the knees, of the passenger is used. A knee bolster for a passenger seat is mainly installed on a front surface of the glove box.
A conventional knee bolster for a passenger seat includes a reinforced steel plate which is mounted to a housing provided on a front surface of a glove box, and a front cover which is provided to cover the reinforced steel plate. The reinforced steel plate is mounted, by a screw mounting method, to the housing provided on the front surface of the glove box. The front cover for covering the reinforced steel plate is installed on the front surface of the glove box by a vibration fusion method.
However, the conventional knee bolster having the above-mentioned configuration increases the weight of the vehicle due to characteristics of the material, thereby causing a reduction in fuel efficiency. Further, because of the assembly methods such as the screw mounting method and the vibration fusion method, the number of assembly processes is increased, whereby the production cost is increased. In addition, an increase in the weight of the glove box makes it difficult to control the speed at which the glove box opens, thus causing a reduction in quality. Furthermore, since the thickness of the front surface of the glove box is increased, the storage capacity of the glove box is reduced, and the appearance of the glove box deteriorates.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.